Blackberry Z10 Review Roundup: Critics and Users Abroad Differ in Their Verdicts

The BlackBerry Z10 is only weeks away from its U.S. launch, but there are plenty of other phones competing for your dollars. Is BlackBerry's all-touch offering and its new operating system worth picking up?

CNET editors only give the Z10 3.5 stars out of 5, citing issues with the BlackBerry 10 OS rather than the phone itself, including unintuitive gestures and a poor selection of proprietary apps.

"You won't be able to ignore the minor hardware and OS irritations that nevertheless pile up as you use the Z10 over time -- like having to use an antiquated and unintuitive file system to create a new photo album, and a basic mapping app that can't possibly stand up to Google's best-in-show," writes CNET.

"For their part, BlackBerry detractors will plainly see a poor iPhone clone that offers little more than the usual features found in any present-day OS worth its salt."

But CNET users seem to disagree, giving the Z10 an average score of a little over 4.5 stars.

Gizmodo also has issues with the BlackBerry 10 OS. "On the software end, BB10's look is modern in its animations and fluidity, but miles behind in general design. Its icons look dated, and its fonts, while readable, don't exactly scream modernity."

"In a lot of ways, BB10 feels like older iterations of Android. You always feel connected, like you can do more or less whatever you need or want to, if you could only remember how. BB10 is a powerful OS; it just hasn't figured out how to be thoughtful yet."

But once you handle the learning curve, the Z10 is great for productivity. "Once you figure out exactly where everything is, how it works, and how to get where, you can zip around from app to app, task to task with admirable efficiency."

PCWorld says the Z10 is an impressive first venture into the modern world of smartphones, but if BlackBerry doesn't build a following with the Z10, it may not get another chance.

"The BlackBerry Z10 has its rough spots. Even so, for a first-gen device on a new OS, it's a solid smartphone effort. If you already have a BlackBerry handset, or if your company is about to move to the new Enterprise Service 10, this phone has much to recommend and is a reasonable choice. If you're not tied to a specific app environment and open to experimentation, the Z10 is worth a look, too. But if you simply must have the latest apps, and are looking at buying the Z10 instead of an iPhone or Android phone, you may want to think twice."

Time concurs, suggesting that current or former BlackBerry loyalists will like the familiarity of the Z10, and its functionality will be easy for them to grasp.

"In multiple ways, it's already better than I expected it to be. Behind the scenes, BlackBerry has been building a mobile operating system that's fresh, fun and functional. It's put the software on a handset that's recognizable both as a current smart phone and as a BlackBerry -- just the sort of thing it desperately needed to keep remaining BlackBerry loyalists from defecting."

In the end, the Z10 is in a similar position to the HTC One or the Sony Xperia Z. All of them are competent and impressive offerings from well-regarded companies. The each offer slightly different user experiences that will favor some lifestyles and hinder others.

But they do not have the infrastructure or marketing might of Apple or Samsung behind them. That may be a feature that draws many users, and there is much to be said about the virtues of an industry with multiple useful options.

But HTC and Sony are using the same Android OS as Samsung. BlackBerry is the only upstart making its own hardware and software. Of course, Apple started out that way, too, and BlackBerry has plenty of experience in revolutionizing pocket tech.

The Z10 may not be a game-changer, but it will help BlackBerry stay in the game, assuming the BlackBerry base is up for it.